The Desert Monitor, Morocco's largest lizard species, is increasingly endangered due to superstitious beliefs, traditional medicine practices, and infrastructure like Matfias, traditional water wells where many lizards get trapped and die. Sahara dragons in Morocco are threatened by superstitious beliefs, traditional medicine, and Matfias, a traditional tool for rural water harvesting. A lizard species, known among scientists as Varanus griseus, and more commonly as the Desert Monitor, is experiencing an increasing mortality rate in Morocco, warns a December study by Moroccan, French, and Spanish researchers. The Desert Monitor, the largest lizard species in Morocco, inhabits the country's Saharan zones and the Atlas Mountains, an area stretching between Tan-Tan and Figuig in northeastern Morocco. The lizards are mostly present in the Atlantic Sahara. In the kingdom, these light brown to yellow-grey lizards, with an average length of one meter, are listed as Near Threatened. However, the threats these reptiles face in their natural habitat might worsen this categorization. Killed, dried and mummified In their study, titled «Dragons in desert trouble: anthropogenic wells as a potential threat to the Desert Monitor, Varanus griseus (Daudin, 1803), in Morocco», researchers Przemysław Zdunek, from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Monitor Lizard Specialist Group, Abdellah Bouazza from Ibn Zohr University, and Gabriel Martínez del Mármol highlight that the desert monitor is a victim of local beliefs. Superstitious beliefs about the reptile are deadly. One of these beliefs is the claim that the Desert Monitor can attack camels, other inhabitants of the Sahara, and break their legs, which makes camel owners hostile to these Sahara dragons. Another local belief pushes hunters to capture these Sahara lizards, kill them, and dry them. The «mummified» lizards are then placed near houses, with the belief that they would keep snakes away. These victimized lizards are also sold or used in traditional medicine or for ethno-herpetological purposes, which includes rituals and even witchcraft. Deadly Matfias for the Sahara Monitor In addition to local superstitious beliefs, the Sahara Monitor is threatened by infrastructure installed in their natural habitat. Matfias, traditional wells used to retain rainwater in arid regions, constitute a major life-threatening risk for these lizards. These Sahara-dwelling reptiles get trapped to death in these matfias. The study identifies three distinct types of Matfias that pose threats to reptiles, most specifically the Sahara Monitor, with a mortality rate of 58%. These deadly matfias for the Desert Monitor are the «cistern-big-hole» matfia, the «cistern-small-hole» matfia, and the «cube-shaped» matfia. In 26 of the 42 observations, the researchers found lizards dead in these matfias. In the remaining 16 instances, lizards were rescued by an observer. «Monitors were most frequently found trapped in cube-shaped matfias, followed by cistern-small-hole matfias. This was closely followed by cistern-big-hole matfias», the study reveals. Another threat to these reptiles is plastic-lined reservoirs used in watermelon cultivation. Less significant threats to these Moroccan lizards are road mortality, illegal pet trade, and hunting.
